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Abstract

Climate change has important implications for mine reclamation. Ecosystems have already shifted since the Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification system was used to map ecosystems across British Columbia, shifting the ecosystem baseline that is used as a target for post-mining landscapes. Projected increased precipitation, decreased snow, and greater summer heat and drought also have substantial impacts on the design, implementation and success of mine reclamation. Consideration of climate change in reclamation planning is necessary to build landscapes and ecosystems that can adapt to future climates and are resilient to extreme weather events. The British Columbia Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals, with contribution from Integral Ecology Group, has developed two documents providing guidance on the incorporation of climate change considerations into mine reclamation. The first document Consideration of Climate Change in Mine Reclamation Planning was published in January 2025, and describes how major mines can include considerations of climate change in reclamation planning when developing reclamation targets and conducting comparisons of equivalent capability, creating reclamation cover systems, selecting plant species for revegetation, developing wildlife habitat capability/suitability targets; and monitoring reclaimed areas and establishing trials. The second document Consideration of Ecosystem Carbon in Mine Reclamation, published in October 2025, highlights how Major Mine Operators can consider ecosystem carbon in mine reclamation planning. Carbon is a critical factor in climate change – increases in carbon gases in the atmosphere are the main cause of climate warming. This document outlines how carbon can be used as a reclamation success indicator, and how to build carbon stocks and reduce carbon losses in reclamation ecosystems. Key points from both documents are summarized in this paper, with an emphasis on regulatory expectations for reclamation practitioners and opportunities to lessen the contributions of the mining industry to climate change by implementing reclamation practices that improve carbon storage within reclaimed ecosystems.